


Drawn to the Light

by Eline (Sans_Souci)



Category: Saiyuki
Genre: Gen, M/M, Other, Rain, back before they hit the mountains, day in the life of, i had this idea once, old fic, retro fic, sort of an adventure, the sodden chronicles
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-25
Updated: 2016-04-06
Packaged: 2018-05-28 23:15:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6349564
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sans_Souci/pseuds/Eline
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>[Revised old fic] Along the way to the west, sometimes you have to stop and let your dragon/jeep dry out while you wind up involved in a situation no-one wanted. That's life though.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Excessive Brooding/Dreams and Eggs

* * * * * * * * * *

Rain. Coming down in torrents.

Gojyo heard the shutters creak inwards as the wind whistled past the small room of the roach motel they had the misfortune to be bunking in that night. The moisture wasn't helping the peeling paint either.

 _Plop_. _Plop_.

Oh yes, not forgetting the roof that leaked in two places in this room. The landlord had ungraciously provided buckets on request. 

After a while, all inns started to look like this. After a few trays of beer, all the women started to look the same too. But there were no women here in this one-horse town with this sad excuse for a guesthouse. No available women out looking for a good time. Or a less dismal time, Gojyo amended as he checked on the weather through a grimy window pane.

And the local beer tasted like piss. Gojyo had long given up on his last pint--a first for him. 

But worst of all . . . most terrible of all, was the sodden packet of cigarettes lying on the table where he had tossed it after rummaging in his pockets for some relief in the middle of a joyless evening. It had obviously been soaked when they had been caught out in the storm.

He would have risked a limb or two to bum a cigarette off Sanzo, except he knew that the monk's stash was no drier than his own. Needless to say, Sanzo had been twice as irritable as usual and had gone to bed early rather than touch the local beer.

All in all, it had been a terrible day. When the storm had hit, Hakkai had suggested heading for shelter in the nearest settlement. Sanzo had wanted to go on, but Jeep had been abruptly mired in a knee-high slush puddle in the middle of the road. That had put a large crimp in any of their plans, whatever they had been.

They had had to get out and push Jeep out before the vehicle could resume its dragon form again. And then the white dragon had started sneezing pitifully. Hakkai and Goku were adamant that they find shelter immediately because, as Hakkai had whispered in his ear during the muddy trek to the town, Sanzo with a cold and Goku whining incessantly for food was the last thing anyone of them wanted to deal with. 

Sanzo with a cold might have been better than Sanzo without his cigarettes. He had said precious little that evening, but if the persistent tick under his left eye had been any indication, he was more than just a little pissed at losing half a day's travel time because of the downpour.

If Gojyo glanced a little to the right, he would see Sanzo's back. The monk was lying on one of the two beds in the room. There were two other futons rolled up behind the door. The inn, moldy as it was, had been the only shelter for travellers in the town. All five pathetic guestrooms in the inn were occupied that night--hence the necessity of sharing one room between the four of them.

It was an open invitation for a virulent case of cabin fever, seeing as how Sanzo hoarded his personal space the way a miser hoarded gold. Hakkai was taking care of Hakuryuu downstairs and Goku was searching for food, as usual. The stupid monkey had looked ready to assist in the washing up if it meant that he could lick the leftovers off the plates.

Sanzo and his moods . . . che! They pandered too much to those moods. Hakkai and Goku had consciously, or rather subconsciously on the part of the monkey, given the priest wide berth that evening. Gojyo had stayed out of sheer bloody-minded perversity.

But Sanzo had other weapons besides his Smith & Wesson and his acid tongue. Like the Eat Shit and Die Glare. And the Really Chilly Fuck You Silence. And the prickly Keep The Hell Away Vibes he generated like a barb-wire barrier. Currently the Keep The Hell Away Vibes were winning as Gojyo felt less and less welcome in the room. Sanzo was not asleep, but awake and brooding. A dangerous time for all and sundry.

At times like this, Gojyo found himself wondering why the heck he was here in Nowheresville, population: fourteen, beer: bloody awful. He had always been a loner and a drifter, but now he was heading off on some mission from the Powers That Be with an irritating monkey, a foul-mouthed priest and a man he had saved for reasons he could not fathom completely.

Sanzo . . . for someone who was supposed to be their leader, he was definitely not a people person, but Gojyo had to give him points for coming through in the pinch. No priestly pacific mutterings from this Sanzo, oh no. He was about six hundred miles clear of Gojyo's original concept of what a monk should be. And a lot prettier too. Sanzo had a face that would put a lot of women to shame and drew lecherous comments from bystanders. Not that anyone could get away with saying it twice. Sanzo had a _mean_ left hook.

Just thinking about those guarded violet eyes led Gojyo down another mental path entirely. He sneaked another look at the monk's lean back and blond shock of hair that seemed to catch and amplify the feeble light of the solitary lamp.

Yep, he was definitely getting horny if he was actually checking out _Sanzo_ of all people. He would have better luck finding some local sheep to bugger. The sheep at least would have been more accommodating and they did not swear like an entire barroom full of sailors.

Suddenly restless, Gojyo sprang up and conceded defeat. No point in staying up here with blondie and his invisible defences. He strode downstairs to what was supposed to be the common room of the inn to find it empty except for Hakkai and Hakuryuu.

"Yo, what's up with the little guy?" he asked as he stood over the makeshift bed Hakkai had made for the dragon in front of the fire.

The landlord, skinflint that he was, might have been less inclined to let a dragon recuperate on his hearth without some extra incentive. But Hakkai could be oddly persuasive in his own way. One would never think that behind that inoffensive mien lay a will of steel. And a really bad temper that no-one wanted to see twice.

"Poor Hakuryuu . . . I think he got a little too much water in his engine," Hakkai said, tucking the covers around the white dragon and the hot water bottle more securely. "It'll be a while before he dries out."

Hakuryuu wheezed apologetically and Hakkai bustled off, murmuring something about badgering the innkeeper for more hot water.

Goyjo had never actually wondered about how the magical jeep/dragon functioned, but he could see that Hakuryuu was not its usual pure white, but a sallow, sickly shade instead. It must have been pretty serious malfunction/illness then. Hakuryuu was Hakkai's pet, but it had carried them through miles of inhospitable terrain on minimal fuel. 

"S'okay, little bud," Gojyo said, reaching down to pat the reptile's head. "You're sure to get better with Hakkai fussing over you like a broody hen." Heck, Hakkai _liked_ to fuss. Some people might think he was being unbearably prissy, but those people did not know that Hakkai had killed over a thousand youkai and half a village of humans to date. Grown men and youkai would have shat themselves in fear if they knew who Hakkai was--or rather, who he had been.

Gojyo knew Hakkai better than Goku and Sanzo did, but that was saying very little indeed. The closest they had ever gotten was three years ago when he had fished Hakkai out of a mud puddle and brought him back home like a stray puppy. He grinned inwardly at that mental picture. He never had a pet when he was a kid--he must have been making up for opportunities lost during his childhood. ( _What_ effin' childhood though?)

No stray puppy had ever stared up at him with a look that said "please kill me" though. These days, Hakkai's eyes rarely said anything. He could only suppose that Hakkai had chosen to come along on this crazy trip for the same vague reasons he had.

A movement caught his eye. An insect was fluttering close to the lamp that lit one of the dingy corners of the common room. Gojyo thought it was a moth at first, but upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a much smaller flying insect he recognised.

This particular kind of fly mated during the wet season. Especially rainy nights. They would grow wings longer than themselves for the courtship flight and then lose them once the deed was done.

Gojyo huffed mirthlessly. The damned insects were getting more action than he was at the moment.

He watched as the fly was joined by a second in their dance around the orange glow of the lamp. Yep, he, Sha Gojyo, was definitely bored out of his skull when he started to find the antics of insects amusing.

Well, voyeurism was something new after all . . .

* * * * * * * * * *

Lately, Sanzo had found that his aversion of rain was returning with a vengeance. Ever since this mission had begun, nothing had been simple anymore.

What had begun as a straightforward search and destroy mission from the Three Aspects had turned into the journey from Hell. It was not the first time he wondered _why_ the gods needed a human messenger when they could chuck their own thunderbolts. The Talking Heads, as he privately referred to them, could take the mission and shove it up their presumably present but invisible collective arses. But the-world-as-they-knew-it hung in the balance, and so some celestial half-wit had probably suggested, "Send out the mortal errand boy to deal with it, chop chop--oh and bring along these three youkai (two and a half actually) for some obscure reason".

Turning over restlessly, Sanzo glared at the cracked and peeling ceiling. At that moment, he itched for a cigarette, but the last few sticks of his Marlboros were definitely the worst for the drenching they had experienced. 

He resisted punching something--anything--to relieve the tension. For one, it would accomplish nothing and he was in no mood to deal with Hakkai's fussing if he bloodied his knuckles.

"Fuck . . .” They always said abstinence was good for the soul. Abstinence from alcohol, rich foods, meat, general vices--not that he had much use for any of those except alcohol. That had been the way of the monks in the monastery. Abstinence to raise spiritual power and sustain the faith.

But that hadn't helped them in the end, had it? He had felt a pang of regret when Shuuei had told him about the youkai who had come back to raid the temple for the Maten Sutra he had inherited. He had never really been close to anyone else in the monastery, but it had been his home until he had cut his ties with it. And the thought of any others else dying because of him . . .

He wondered sometimes if his master would approve . . . of what he had become. A pathetic creature who shunned attachments but could never truly pull away from the past.

Too many ghosts seemed to return on rainy nights for his comfort. There was nothing to bring temporary relief . . . nothing to grant temporary forgetfulness.

There were tales of a river flowing somewhere . . . A river filled with the Waters of Forgetfulness. If he had been offered a sip of that river that night, he would have taken it and to hell with the consequences . . .

* * * * * * * * * *

Somewhere else, a dreamer stirred.

_Someone else had entered the dreamer's dark world._

_Bright. So bright . . ._

_It was **glowing**._

* * * * * * * * * *

It was dark here.

_Down here._

But where was _here_?

Was it the darkness of that seemingly never-ending night when his master had died in front of his eyes?

Or was it the darkness of those nights that had followed as he tried to exorcise his personal demons along with the youkai he despatched with something akin to joy? 

_It is the moon-dark. The twilight. Suspended between life and death. It is the dark shadow of the soul._

There was someone else here.

_I live here._

Who are you?

_Help me._

_What_ are you?

* * * * * * * * * *

_Somewhere else, the dreamer subsided, returning to its unending sleep. The light was gone, but the dreamer would wait._

* * * * * * * * * *

It was still raining in the morning. Drizzling, actually. The cold, wet and dismal kind that kept the slush on the ground at the right consistency for an unwary foot to slip on.

Hakkai braved the unsheltered distance between the privy and the backdoor of the hostel with an old hemp sack over his head. Nodding at the cook of the establishment--and receiving a non-verbal grunt in reply--he made his way through the kitchen and out to the common room. 

It was an hour after dawn, but no other guests were stirring. Granted, it did not look like it was actually _morning_ or anything close to a day when any sane traveller would venture forth . . . 

Hakkai shook his head and went to check on Hakuryuu. They would be going nowhere in this weather without Jeep. And Hakuryuu was _not_ going to go out in this weather with a cold or whatever it was that magical dragons/jeeps came down with if he had any say in that matter. 

"Piuuu . . ." Hakuryu had popped his head up when Hakkai had come closer the fireplace. 

"Good morning. Are you better now?" Hakkai liked talking to Hakuryuu at this time. He was the only one capable of a coherent and relatively good-natured conversation in the mornings. The conversations _were_ a little one-sided, but Hakkai was fairly sure he could tell one "piuu" from another "piuuu" by now. 

"Piuuu . . ." 

"Hungry?" 

"Piuu!" 

"Right! I will go arrange some breakfast for us," Hakkai said. "All of us." He glanced over to where Gojyo was slumped face-down at the table, snoring gently. Neither of them had slept that night, only dozing off an hour or two before dawn. 

He had found Gojyo in the common room last night, bemoaning the lack of functional cigarettes and how some insects were probably seeing more action than he was. Hakkai being Hakkai had just smiled and nodded along. Privately, he wondered if nicotine withdrawal was detrimental to mental health. The conversation they had after that . . . had been *interesting* to say the least. 

Then again, this journey had been "interesting" as well. Now Hakkai believed that getting a good breakfast between oneself and all the interesting challenges of the day could make a real difference. For one, it might be the last meal of their lives, but that was being pessimistic. Or realistic if one was cynical. He left the cynicism to Sanzo and trusted in his own cooking. 

Not that he was saying anything about the cooking at this establishment, but . . . 

An hour later, Gojyo stumbled into the kitchen. "Oi . . . Hakkai . . . Where's the damned bathroom?" 

"It's out back," Hakkai said from where he had commandeered the stove. "But it's raining, so be careful of the mud." 

"Gah! Bloody rain . . ." Gojyo muttered as he slipped out the backdoor. Hakkai noticed that he was not going in the right direction of the privy and would have called out to tell Gojyo so, but a sudden thought came to him about the likelihood of the kappa going any further than he had to for a piss. 

"Ah." After all, the backyard of the inn had not been all that sanitary to begin with. And the mud was not going to get any cleaner . . . 

"I smell _food_ . . ." Yawning but still moving at considerable speed, Goku appeared in the doorway. " _Good_ food . . . I knew it! Hakkai! You're cooking!" 

"Good morning! How do you like your eggs?" 

"Err . . ." Goku appeared to be giving this simple question some thought. "Hakkai, how many ways are there to cook eggs and can I have them all?" 

"Ah, I will try my best," Hakkai said. Goku had the constitution and appetite of a teenager and it never failed to amaze people how much food he could pack away. It was a _good_ thing he had commandeered the kitchen then . . . 

"Ne, Hakkai, I had a really weird dream last night . . . " 

Gojyo chose this moment to join the conversation from the backdoor. "Really? Was it a _perverted_ dream?" The red-haired man looked marginally more awake and lucid. Lucid enough to start the day's first quarrel with Goku at any rate. "You know, Goku, the type one where you normally wake up with a st--" 

"Ewww! You're disgusting!" Goku yelled. "It wasn't like that at all! It was all dark and there was this girl--" 

"Ooooh, that's the kind of dream I like!" Gojyo held Goku off with one hand as the monkey tried to punch him. "You're a normal boy after all--" 

"Pervert--" 

"Shut the fuck up!" 

A few lumps of plaster rained down on the frozen tableau from the bullet-hole in the ceiling, caused by the shot Sanzo had used to emphasise his point. The monk had never been a morning person, but this was a little extreme. 

"Erm . . . It's a little early in the morning for bullets, ne?" Hakkai ventured. The landlord was _not_ going to be happy with the new hole in the already cracked and crumbling ceiling. And Hakkai had to scramble to move the pan to avoid dust in the food.

"Just shut up! And get me some coffee!" Sanzo barked and flopped down ungracefully on the nearest empty chair. 

Goku and Gojyo, still frozen where they stood, exchanged a look. Even Hakkai was a little surprised. Sanzo was not usually that snappy . . . 

"Okay . . . just a moment. Black as usual?" 

His only reply was a grunt. 

"What crawled up his butt and died there?" Gojyo muttered as Hakkai passed him a mug. 

Hakkai shrugged as he turned to dish out the eggs. "He's probably still irritated at losing so much travelling time . . ." 

But it was Goku who dared to venture a question. "Sanzo? Er, Sanzo are you okay?" he asked meekly. "I could go get your paper if you want to read it . . ." 

And then Hakkai realised that Sanzo was not reading the morning paper but clutching at his head. What had originally looked like his early morning case of grumpiness was actually a pained expression. 

"How much did he drink last night?" Hakkai asked Gojyo quietly. 

"Eh? But we're out of booze . . . No more beer, whiskey or scotch--and there's none worth drinking in this dinky town," Gojyo replied, puzzled. "Oi Sanzo, have you been holding out on us?" 

If looks could kill, Gojyo would have been a greasy smear on the floor by now. 

"I. Am. Not. Having. A. Hangover. Stupid. Kappa." Sanzo was going for his gun again as glaring could not accomplish what his revolver could. Gojyo very wisely decided to duck. 

But Sanzo staggered before he could pull the trigger again. "Shit!" he swore. 

"What's wrong?" Abandoning breakfast, Hakkai came over the table, still wary of Sanzo's trigger-happy mood. 

"My head hurts . . ." 

"Headache? Do you want me to try and cure it?" 

"Wow, you can do that too, Hakkai?" Goku asked. 

In all honesty, Hakkai had never tried curing a headache before. Wounds, scrapes, burns, lethal life-threatening wounds yes--headaches, no. But giving it a try was a better option than to have Sanzo wandering around armed and in pain. 

"Sit down." And he did pick the gun out of Sanzo's grip before he started to draw on his power and laid a hand on Sanzo's brow. 

"It's . . . _not_ working," Sanzo said after a few moments. 

"Give it a little while more," Hakkai requested. "I think it's a migraine. Does it hurt on the right or left side of your head?" 

"I can't tell! It just hurts!" 

"So this isn't working . . . I guess this kind of problem is too subtle. We may need medication . . ."

" _Sedation_ is more like it," Gojyo said, emerging cautiously when the threat of swift and permanent ventilation appeared to be over. "But where can we get any medicine in a place like this?"

"There's bound to be some sort of doctor out here . . ." Hakkai said. This area was rural, with scattered agricultural communities. There would usually be some local herbalist to consult. "Someone has to see to sick people. We should ask the landlord."

"I'll go," Gojyo volunteered. "He's still out of sorts--I don't want to be around when he tries taking pot-shots at anyone again."

It was a testament to just how much Sanzo's head hurt when he did not even attempt a retort.

"Hurry," Hakkai whispered. "And see if you can get something for Hakuryuu's cold!" 

"All right!"

* * * * * * * * * *


	2. Sedation/Moving Without Getting Anywhere

* * * * * * * * * *

When asked to choose between Sanzo with a migraine and facing the rain with an old hemp sack, Gojyo had opted for the lesser of two evils. It had been easy to rouse the landlord. Using minimum force and almost no cuss words at all, he successfully pressed the old skinflint for directions to the nearest medical practioner and left the inn quickly.

It was still raining. The persistent kind of rain that would get into your boots and through your pants even though you knew you were avoiding the puddles. For once, he was glad that this town was small and had a grand total of perhaps three or four streets.

Goyjo was still rather damp by the time he got to the address on the outskirts of town. The house was small, but looked well-kept. He got under the scant shelter of the awning over the door and knocked.

The door opened a crack. "You're a day early." 

_Wha . . .?_

The occupant of the house pushed the door open wide.

"Hmm . . . you don't _look_ like the baker's youngest son." The speaker stepped out into the dim light. She was not old, but not that young either. _Matured . . ._ that was the word for the dark-haired woman in the doorway. 

"Eh?" Goyjo enquired brightly. 

The woman leaned against the doorframe, one arm arching up melodramatically in a clatter of bracelets. 

Goyjo followed the pleasing line of her arm up to the discrete little red lantern that was half hidden by the eaves. It was not lit. 

Ah. His sleep-deprived brain finally caught up with the rest of him. While searching for a medicine shop or local physician, he had found the town’s one and probably only sex worker during her non-business hours instead. The confusion must have shown on his face. 

One well-maintained--well-maintained for these parts--eyebrow quirked upwards. "Hey, I don't normally get disappointed customers, you know?" 

"No offence to you, lady, but there's a time and place for these things and I'm looking for a migraine cure," he said with a casual shrug. He contrived to look inoffensive. "Mind if you point me in the general direction of the nearest herbalist?" 

"Oh, then why didn't you say so?" she asked. "I've got willow-bark tea with mint and a few of my special herbs--or the local version of aspirin, if you want." 

His nonplussed look set her dark eyes rolling comically. "This really is a two-bit town, if you haven't already noticed. I'm a provider of relief, in more ways than one." 

"Multi-purpose, huh?" 

"If I had a penny for every time I heard that one . . ." She shook her head and motioned him indoors. "Take off your boots and come in. Don't drip any mud on my floor--I just cleaned it. You don't look like you're the one with the migraine." 

The town medicine woman’s abode was warm and had that lived-in feel that made visitors automatically comfortable. "Nope--it's for a friend," he replied and sat down on something like a kitchen chair with a home-made cushion tied on the seat. "Got anything for a small sized dragon suffering from overexposure to the rain?"

"Dragon? That's a new one . . . You'll have to wait a few minutes," the medicine woman said as she deftly tipped some dried herb mixture into a pot of boiling water. 

"Sure. I got time." Which was not _entirely_ a lie. Gojyo hoped that Hakkai and Goku could bear up with Sanzo a little longer. He settled down and took the chance to have a look around the woman's small kitchen cum living room. The furnishings looked mismatched and mended, but were mostly in good shape. Bunches of herbs and things he couldn't identify hung from lines strung across the room. And it was clean. Gojyo had seen the homes of less house-proud women before. It was rather reassuring to find a hygienic herbalist in this dump. 

"Normally, I like to see my patients first, but I'll make an exception for a pretty boy like you." 

Gojyo repressed a chuckle. _Lady, you don't know what you're missing,_ he thought to himself. _But considering the mood he's in now, the minute blondie opens his mouth, you'd be out the door before we could tackle you and offer practically_ anything _to get rid of his migraine._

"The name's Gojyo. Under different circumstances, I think we'd be very good friends." 

"Kailan. Under different circumstances, that line wouldn't even get you a discount." She sat down opposite him with a pouch that smelt tantalisingly familiar. 

He watched, fascinated, as the self-proclaimed woman of all work rolled a cigarette from the contents of the pouch--a clump of shredded tobacco and a thin sheet of paper. Wetting one edge of the paper with her tongue, she sealed her roll-up with speed born of experience. 

"Hmmph, that's the first time I ever saw someone drooling at my _cigarettes_." 

"I'd kill for one right now though." 

"Careful what you promise laddie," she said without mirth. She offered him the roll-up and nudged the lamp over to him. "That and the advice will be free." 

At close range, Gojyo could see the markings on the bracelets she wore. He knew a little about the occult from his misspelt youth on the fringes of the mostly disreputable bits of society--namely what it looked like and what to avoid. Oh joy. She was a witch in addition to the village herbalist. 

He lit the roll-up carefully with the lamp flame and drew in a much-needed nicotine fix. Her tobacco was interestingly spicy--he supposed that she made her own blend. "Is there anything you _don't_ do?" he asked, wondering how he could have missed the astrology charts on the walls and the slightly more mystic looking marks inscribed over the threshold of every door. Some of it was real, that much his limited and mostly untrained senses could tell him.

"It pays to be generally indispensable and slightly feared." Kailan smiled slightly. "Now it's my turn. What is a half-youkai doing in this town? With other youkai, no less." 

"Just passing through," Gojyo said cautiously. She was not youkai, not as far as he could sense. And she might actually have some gift of that _other_ kind of sight in addition to spellcasting if she knew that Hakkai and Goku were not really human. "Got anything against youkai?"

"Only the few that lived around here. Never knew many of them. But it doesn't rain here often." 

"What?" The sudden change in subject puzzled him. 

"I said it doesn't rain here that often. They use irrigation to fill the fields. This is the first time it has really _poured_ in months. Nice coincidence, huh?" 

"What's it to you?" 

"Well, it's a fine line between being slightly feared and on the receiving end of a lynch mob," Kailan said calmly. "I have some small ability to bring rain." 

So that was why they had not driven her out of town with the generic bucket of tar and a sack of feathers. Yet. Not while she still had some worth to the surrounding rice farms. 

"But yesterday's rain was not my doing. It's beyond my abilities to produce something like that," she continued. 

"So? It's probably some freak storm that'll blow over soon."

"No," she said firmly, "it's not natural. Furthermore, few humans can bring about anything like this."

"Any resident youkai around?" Few youkai had the power to influence the weather on any scale . . . unless they were the powerful sort.

"None that I've heard of . . . But there are legends," the apothecary said, lighting a new roll-up. "Folklore about what used to be here . . . It used to be a site of elemental force of some kind. Very old and probably not for someone like me to fathom. But what I'm most concerned about is, that if this continues, the rice fields on this side of the river will flood. And I'll have to move. Just when I was thinking about settling down in my old age too."

Gojyo did not need to be a student of economics to see how the scales were stacked here. "You think there's a problem . . . So what are you going to do about it?"

"Eh, well . . . Strike a bargain, of course. It's what I do best," Kailan said with a slight smile. "It's along the way for you if you're going west across the river."

Ah, so this was what it had been leading up to. Sanzo would _not_ like this. "We're in a little bit of a hurry--"

"It's along the way, I said. The disturbance is near the river crossing. Won't take five minutes to have a look along that zone. And you're not moving from this town until someone gets a migraine cure, right?"

"And a dragon with a cold."

"I don't do reptiles."

"Neither do I, but give it a try." Hakkai would definitely prefer to leave after Hakuryuu was cured.

" _Fine_ . . ."

* * * * * * * * * *

It was not easy, keeping an ill-tempered monk like Sanzo down when all he wanted to do was spread a little of the pain around. Sanzo was generous in that way . . .

Goku had gone through the slightly overdone eggs in less than a minute and succeeded in irritating Sanzo within two minutes of clearing his plate. Sanzo still had his fan, which he used with maximum efficiency whenever Goku was in range. There had been a short chase around the kitchen earlier on, but his migraine had put a stop to it before any more havoc could transpire.

There was just the priest's belligerent attitude to deal with now. Just about all three other groups of guests in the inn had visited with kitchen and subsequently fled under a hail of paint-stripping curses that Sanzo had been directing at Goku, an absent Gojyo and even _Hakuryuu_.

Hakkai had seriously considered using the skillet on the priest, but refrained because it was borrowed property and had a high chance of coming away second best against Sanzo's skull. After all, he was the considerate sort . . .

When Gojyo _finally_ appeared with the packet of medicine, they got Sanzo dosed despite his complaints that the infusion tasted like shit, hauled him out of the kitchen and safely back into their room.

"Ah, that was . . . _trying_ ," Hakkai said carefully as the prescription took effect. It seemed that Gojyo had asked for sedatives in the mix . . . Which was good. Very good indeed. He checked Sanzo's vital signs and discerned that the monk was well on his way into some much-needed rest. Peace at last . . .

"What a grouch," Goku muttered, rubbing his head. "He'd better get well soon. _Hakkai_ was ready to hit him just now."

"Why didn't you?" Gojyo asked. "We could've saved on the sedatives if you'd knocked his block off."

"Not in public," Hakkai said dryly. "I have a reputation to maintain. Besides, the kitchen utensils aren't mine. So how much was the medicine?"

Here Gojyo looked a little uncomfortable. "Er, well . . . It's like this . . . the apothecary made a deal. Medication for free if we check out this site near the river when we left."

"Huh? We're doing what?" Goku asked.

"She’s some sort of weather-predicting witch--thinks there's something at the river that's causing the rain," Gojyo said with a shrug. "She said the medicine's free if we check it out. And I got her to make up something for Hakuryuu--no guarantees, she said, because she doesn't know what to do with sick dragons."

Hakkai adjusted his monocle and took the smaller flask that Gojyo had brought back. "I see . . ." He would rather not deal with self-declared witches, but they were trying to get to the west as soon as possible. "The medicine seems to be working for Sanzo . . . I will go give Hakuryuu his then. Goku, please keep an eye on Sanzo. And don't let him anywhere near his gun if he wakes up."

"Saaaa, what a bother . . ." Gojyo said as he followed Hakkai down to the kitchen again. It was still very quiet as everyone in the inn was lying low in fear of gun-wielding homicidal monks. "Why'd he have to pick this town of all places to get a bloody migraine?"

"It can't be helped," Hakkai said calmly. "Human flesh is still fragile. Sanzo is only human . . . I suppose, sometimes, he doesn't like it because he thinks he's not strong enough." 

"He's held up pretty well through all the shit we've seen."

"He won't be happy that a headache got him down though," Hakkai said as he uncapped the flask. "Hakuryuu, come on . . ."

"Piuu!" the dragon complained after he had stuck his head into the flask. 

"Medicine doesn't normally taste good . . . What if I mixed it in your breakfast?"

"Ne, Hakkai, what about breakfast?" Goyjo asked as he flopped down at the table.

"Eh?"

"I haven't had _any_ ," Gojyo whined, watching Hakuryuu rather enviously. "The monkey ate it all, didn't he?"

"Oh, apologies, Gojyo. I'll just warm-up the coffee and cook up some more eggs. Toast?"

"Thanks . . . You know I'm only good at takeout and instant noodles."

"It's okay--I haven't eaten either." Hakkai busied himself with the skillet, kettle and more eggs. "We should be prepared to leave soon. Sanzo hates losing time."

"Yeah--he'd probably kick us out of here when he gets up if the landlord doesn't. You think the little guy can make it?" Gojyo asked and jerked his chin at Hakuryuu.

"Hakuryuu shouldn't change until the rain stops. Sanzo can walk if he wants to hurry."

There was a pause. And a wide grin spread over Gojyo's face. "I think you're not as nice as you make yourself out to be sometimes."

"I'm not trying to make myself out to be anything, Gojyo--though I'm probably not as trusting as I look. Do you automatically trust people who offer you cigarettes?" 

"Uh . . ."

"I can smell it," Hakkai clarified. "Making deals with magicians isn't all that straightforward sometimes. For instance, how would she ensure that you kept your side of the agreement? You didn't swear anything . . . *binding* did you?"

"Um, no--not like that . . . We shook on it and . . ." Gojyo mumbled something into his mug of coffee.

"Pardon?"

The other man looked slightly embarrassed when he looked up again. "She threatened to curse me with impotency if I didn't keep my end of the deal . . ."

Hakkai could not help the sudden snort of laughter that burst from his chest. After the events of that harried morning, this unexpected titbit was unexpectedly . . . well, _hilarious_. 

"Oh dear . . . She must have read you very well then . . ." Hakkai said, attempting to stifle a grin.

"Go on--laugh," Gojyo said sourly. " _You_ didn't see her collection of semen in little vials and the little wax dolls."

* * * * * * * * * *

Watching Sanzo sleep was not as boring as it sounded. For one thing, he was not frowning, scowling or calling Goku a stupid monkey.

It was sort of a nice change. Not that he would like it to be permanent though. Sanzo without his trademark scowl just would not be _Sanzo_ anymore. For as long as Goku could remember, the monk was belligerent to the world in general and specifically _nasty_ to anyone who tried to get overly familiar with him. The only times Sanzo had not been like that was when he had been incapacitated or comatose. 

_Those_ had been times when Goku and the others had worried over the monk, but this time, it was nothing particularly life-threatening. Sanzo looked like he was sleeping peacefully for once--the strained look that he had worn that morning had eased somewhat.

Goku leaned back in the not very comfortable chair to wait it out. He hoped Hakkai would bring lunch up later. Soon.

"Ne, Sanzo . . . I had a dream last night. It was weird," he said to the sleeping figure. The only way to make small talk with the monk was when he was not actually listening. "It was very dark, and I think there were two people there . . . This guy and this girl—sleeping or something . . . But not waking up. _Ever_.

"It was kind of sad . . . Like they wanna to wake up but can't . . ."

* * * * * * * * * *

There were two sleepers. There always had been. They had been there in the dark for a very long time now.

But only one of them dreamed. The other one had always been closer to waking.

* * * * * * * * * *

Waking up and getting up had never been easy. Not even for monks with missions. Sinking back into the drug-induced oblivion had been extremely tempting . . . But no, he was awake now, sans headache and feeling as sluggish as cold porridge.

And still hankering for a long smoke in a quiet corner with maybe a few shots of whiskey as an accompaniment. 

Wishful thinking.

Sanzo opened his eyes. It was close to evening already, if the long shadows on the ceiling were any indication of the time. He still had the vile aftertaste of whatever concoction the damned kappa had brought back in his mouth. Someone--probably Hakkai--had thoughtfully provided a pitcher of water and a washbasin.

His limbs felt as though they had been filled with lead, but he pushed himself up anyhow, trying to shake off the lethargy. Damned headache and all its after effects . . .

He made it to the washbasin and rinsed out his mouth. Marginally refreshed, he looked out the open window to check the weather. It was not raining anymore. There were hardly any clouds in the darkening sky. A day had been wasted in this hick-town.

Sanzo wanted someone to swear at. Gingerly, he set one foot in front of the other and moved. When the pain in his head showed no sign of returning, he quickened his pace and shoved the door open.

Goku was just outside on the landing--he was leaning over the railing and appeared to listening to the voices drifting up from downstairs. The monkey looked up when the door creaked open.

"Sanzo? You're awake! Hakkai and Gojyo are down there with the innkeeper. I think that man is trying to kick us out--"

"Like we would want to stay another minute," Sanzo retorted. He had wanted to call Goku a stupid ape as usual, but something in the monkey's eyes held him back. Relief. It was the Oh-Good-Sanzo-Really-Is-Okay look that was the first thing he always saw whenever he woke up from the sedatives.

He shunted that disquieting insight aside and started down the stairs with Goku trailing after him.

Hakkai's voice could be heard from the common room, still reasonable but a little impatient this time. "--I'm just saying that we--"

"You made me lose all my custom!" The landlord, sounding indignant. "All my guests got scared away today--"

"Hey, I think the exotic fauna in the bedding you provide probably added to that." Gojyo, stating the obvious. "And it wasn't like a new hole in your ceiling matters. It already looks like Swiss cheese--"

"I already factored in all the damages in your bill--"

Ah, the landlord was trying to wring them for they were worth before kicking them out. Sanzo made a noise in disgust and deliberately let his footfalls be heard as he climbed down.

The landlord's tirade trickled to a standstill as Sanzo put in his appearance. 

"Oh, Sanzo . . . You're up. We're trying to persuade the landlord to let us--" Hakkai began.

"Save your breath. We're leaving!" Sanzo barked, causing the landlord to back up a step and start looking for concealed weapons. "And where the heck is my gun?"

"But Sanzo! I'm hungry! And it's dinner time!" Goku whined.

If Sanzo had been the sort of man who was inclined to kindness, he would have thwacked the monkey and hauled them out of there as soon as possible.

"Ow! Sanzo--that hurt!" Goku yelled as he rubbed his head.

"Shut up, stupid ape," he said, shoving his fan back into his sleeve. "We'll leave after dinner."

Hope faded from the landlord's eyes as Goku started capering expectantly.

It should be noted that Sanzo was the kind of person who would use his fan on Goku and then inflict him on the hapless staff of the inn at dinnertime. After all, the innkeeper did not have to put up with the monkey's whining every day. 

But there was one more thing bothering him . . .

"Oi, kappa . . . Where did you get the cigarettes from? I could smell it on you this morning, but I couldn't place it until now."

"Aw hell . . . a guy can't bum a smoke anymore without getting the third degree about it from everyone," Gojyo muttered.

"The local medicine woman . . . Which he made a deal with to check out a possible local disturbance," Hakkai informed Sanzo. "She was, um, very persuasive . . ."

"Were you thinking with your dick again?" Sanzo asked sarcastically. "Don't come running to us if it meets up with a chopper or whatever the women in this place use."

Meanwhile, Hakkai had covered his mouth and was trying very hard not to make a sound as the priest hit the mark . . . without really knowing the details about little wax dolls and assorted body fluids.

"That's it . . . No more charitable deeds for Mr. My-Shit-Don't-Stink Monk here," Gojyo exclaimed. "He can go blow his own brains out the next time he gets a migraine--"

"At least I have a brain, unlike certain people I could mention . . ." the priest retorted. "You didn't have the sense the Creator gave a cow to get the rest of the tobacco, right? I'm surrounded by idiots . . ."

Gojyo exchanged a look with Hakkai as the monk stalked off to curb Goku from reading off the entire menu to the cook.

Yep, everything was back to normal . . .

* * * * * * * * * *

_The dreamer was, for the want of a better word, excited._

_A celestial soul, no less. Someone with the power to end the dream permanently._

_The dreamer had lost sight of the light for a while. But it was there, just a little out of reach. Just outside the boundaries of unconsciousness._

_But the dreamer was nothing but patient._

_The light was getting closer._

* * * * * * * * * *

"Sanzo, is this a good idea?" Hakkai asked. It had been nightfall when they had set off from the inn. Now, walking down a rutted road that would have wreaked havoc on Jeep’s suspension in the dark, the village seemed rather inviting again.

"Hmphh . . . It was part of that stupid kappa's deal to see this through. Why not now?" The monk looked irritated, yet somewhat preoccupied.

"Ano . . . You don't really think there's something out there worth checking out, do you?" Hakkai asked Sanzo's back. "I can't sense anything . . ."

The priest did not deign to reply.

"Kyyuuuuu? Piuuuuu . . ." Hakuryuu cooed from Hakkai's shoulder.

"I don't know either . . ." Hakkai sighed and walked on.

"Well, we're here," Gojyo said from up. "The river. Or the river bank. To the left of the road for a hundred yards or so . . ."

Goku hoped up onto the stones that lined the bank and peered over. "Whoa!"

"That is quite a drop," Hakkai murmured as they looked over the stony embankment and down into the swollen river below. "No wonder they have to use irrigation . . . The river must be practically inaccessible in the dry seasons."

"She said we may have to go down on the rocks . . . preferably in the day time," Gojyo said meaningfully. "It's suicide to try hopping around down there in the dark!"

"I didn't come all the way here on someone else's idea just to quit," Sanzo said curtly. "Hakkai, is there any way to make a torch?"

An old dried out branch served as a makeshift brand to light the way as they climbed down the rocky slope to where the water lapped around large slabs of granite. Scattered here and there were clumps of vegetation that had hung on tenaciously throughout the river's fluctuations.

"Hmm . . ." Hakkai peered up at the rocky embankment. "The river must have been receding for quite some time now. But all the growth on the stones here seems to indicate that the water level has been dropping faster recently." 

"Other than the interesting geography, there isn't anything else here," Gojyo pointed out. "Unless you mean the possibility of more rain. Can you smell it?"

"Don't see anything. Or smell anything other than the rain that's coming," Goku piped up. "Can we go now? It's getting cold out here . . ."

"So the weather didn't really let up," Hakkai said, glancing up at the gathering storm clouds. "I don't think we can sleep in Jeep tonight if it gets heavy . . . Guess we'll have to break out the canvas."

"Aw shit . . . And we came out here for _what_?"

"A wild goose chase," Sanzo said crossly. "Are you sure you got the right directions from that old hag? Or maybe there was too much rainwater in your ears--"

"Hey! Were you really expecting to find anything he--"

Whatever Gojyo had been about to say was cut off by the downpour that soaked them to the skin in seconds.

"Oh _crap_ ," Gojyo said succinctly.

All three looked at Sanzo for the tell-tale blood vessel. Yep, right there--throbbing away under his right eye as usual . . .

"Er, Sanzo?" Goku asked when the monk stayed silent for a full minute.

"Damn it! I'm tired of this!" Sanzo hissed. "Someone's been fucking around with us and I've had it!"

"Um, I think the monk's gone crazy _and_ paranoid, Hakkai," Gojyo muttered to his friend. "Come on, let's get out of the rain--"

The earth chose that moment to move. Right out from under their feet.

* * * * * * * * * *

One moment they had been standing in the rain with Sanzo getting madder as they got wetter by the second. Then the stones had started shifting as the storm picked up the pace above them.

They had barely been able to keep their footing, but they had managed to start scrambling for higher ground just in time. Then the river had started to churn. Whatever it was, it was not natural.

Goku could sense it, though he could not for the life of him understand why.

The wave that had washed them clear of the bank would have been impossible even in the most turbulent river.

Fortunately for him, Goku had rather liked swimming and he surface from the water, a little breathless but unscathed.

"Hakkaaaiii!" he yelled into the pounding rainstorm. "Gojyo? Oh wait . . . stupid kappa can't swim . . ."

_And Sanzo . . .?_

The priest was nowhere in sight. Neither were the other two. He was bobbing alone in the middle of a raging river as the rain poured down in torrents.

Sanzo?

"Oh shit . . ." Taking a deep breath, Goku dove back under again.

_Don't leave me alone . . ._

The undertow was strong, but it was pulling him downwards and he let it carry him deeper. It was dark there in the river, but to leave without finding any of the others was . . . unthinkable. He started to search desperately even as his supply of air started to run low.

 _Sanzo . . . Somebody, please . . . Anybody_ . . . 

Neither mortal or youkai, Goku knew that he could withstand the pressure and lack of air for more than just a few minutes. But even that was not long enough as his vision began to blur. He almost thought he was hallucinating when he saw something in the murky depths ahead of him.

A glint of . . . gold?

_Sanzo!_

Reckless impulse drove him on, regardless of the fact that no light could exist this deep down in the depths. 

_It could be . . . It could be . . . It_ has _to be--_

Hope gave his flagging limbs a kind of desperate energy as he cut through the water, following the flicker of light. And then he _could_ see the priest, pale robes and all.

His fingers snagged on one pale sleeve. Not a hallucination after all. But then--

_Sanzo? Unconscious. Have to get Sanzo out. Now. Need air . . ._

The current had other ideas though. Try as he might, Goku could not extricate himself and Sanzo from the grip of the strong undertow. And they were being towed in deeper . . .

* * * * * * * * * *

Getting dunked into a river full of chilly water was not Gojyo's idea of an evening's entertainment. Getting dragged under by the unnatural current had never been on his list of priorities in the first place. He could have _sworn_ that that wave had been unnaturally high when it had swept them off the rocks--

But shit like that always happened when one was on the road with Sanzo. Gojyo had always avoided deep water because he could not really float, much less swim . . .

_I should've taken up that offer to learn to swim . . ._

Memory chose that extremely inconvenient moment to resurface.

Jien's hands ruffling his damp hair. Deep and gruff voice that was always and eternally "big brother" speaking to him. Amused. Always tolerant.

"Oi--I'm not going to be there to fish you out every time you fall in. I'll teach you to swim, okay?"

_Oh wait, I did agree . . . But it was just before that day . . ._

Blood. The smell of it. The sight of it dripping down the length of an old sword. The sword that Jien held in one slack hand. The day that everything went to hell in a hand-basket.

_It'sdarkIt'sdarkIt'sdark . . . Ohshitohshit . . ._

So the worst possible thing happened.

He panicked. He saw his own precious supply of air escaping from his nose and mouth even as he struggled.

And the darkness pressed inwards.

* * * * * * * * * *

Hakkai broke through the surface of water, gasping. He had remembered that Gojyo could not swim--which was really odd for a kappa--and had gone after him. Gojyo had been in trouble--Hakkai could hardly get close to get a grip on him. The strange undertow had dragged them in for a ways before vanishing abruptly and he had wasted no time kicking for the surface with his friend's currently limp body.

But when he had a good look at his surroundings, he realised that they were not in the river after all. They had emerged in a cavern. His youkai senses compensated for the lack of light instinctively. This was someplace underground. They had discovered an underground cave, most probably under the riverbank that they had been checking.

Or maybe "discovered" was not really the right word for this . . .

Decided that there was nothing for it but to brave the strange cavern, he hauled Gojyo out of the water and waded to the shore. He shook the other man’s shoulders and found him alarmingly unresponsive.

"Gojyo?"

The red-haired man was not breathing. He had probably lost a lot of air while panicking . . .

"Gojyo!"

There had been that first aid class at school . . . But they probably did not have the addition of _ki_ to the technique in mind.

Two breaths followed by the application of carefully controlled _ki_ to the sternum--repeat the cycle--

Goyjo started to twitch after three cycles.

Hakkai sighed in relief. Gojyo's youkai ancestry had probably saved him from prolonged anoxia. He helped to prop the other man up as the redhead coughed up a prodigious amount of water. 

"That--that was too bloody . . . too damn close . . ." Gojyo rasped.

"Too close," Hakkai agreed.

A slight pause as they recouped after a near brush with death. Danger on a daily basis was just peachy, but they had got over the death wish phase already, thank you very much.

"Where is . . . this place?" The cavern stretched out before them for perhaps half a kilometre and the rest was shrouded in darkness. 

"I have no idea. When I couldn't feel the undertow anymore, I swam upwards and we popped up in here."

"Wherever _here_ is," Gojyo muttered. "Something stinks, and it's not the fish I have stuck in my boot. I hate to admit it, but Kailan and the stinking priest may have been on to something . . ."

"Definitely _something_ ," Hakkai said and pointed at the ceiling of the cave. Barely visible in the gloom were rough frescos of what looked like rivers, clouds and a depiction of a rainstorm. There was some kind of writing as well, carved deep into the walls--but the people who could read it were probably centuries dead. It was not a real cavern, but an ancient site of some power. 

"She wasn't kidding about it being some elemental site . . ." Gojyo dumped a small fish out from his boot, changed his mind and chucked it back in the pool of water behind them. "But I can't feel anything. I mean, if it powerful enough to cause the storm, we should be able to sense it by now."

"I think Sanzo knew something," Hakkai said worriedly, "but he didn't say anything even though it was bothering him."

"Stubborn monk . . . D'you suppose he and the monkey wound up in here?"

"It's very likely. Have you recovered? We need to find Sanzo and Goku . . ."

"Say . . . did you kiss me just now?" Gojyo asked as he got to his feet.

"Ah, that was part of the method to revive--"

"As in lip to lip?"

Hakkai looked flustered. "It wasn't--"

Gojyo looked thoughtful. "Can you try that again when we're not so busy drowning?"

" _What_?"

The redhead grinned. "Because, Hakkai, your Frenching technique needs a bit of work in the tongue department. I'm telling you this as a friend--"

Hakkai's expression had gone from mildly embarrassed to that semi-blank look he sometimes had when he was not smiling. And then he demonstrated how his technique was, in fact, not lacking on a very surprised Gojyo.

"I concentrate better when I don't have things like saving a life on my mind," Hakkai said with a small smile as the kappa stood there, shocked into silence. "We should go find the others now."

When he could finally shape a coherent sentence instead of impersonating a dying goldfish, Hakkai was already halfway across the cavern. "Was that a joke?" he asked weakly. "Oi! Hakkai! It was a joke, right? Hakkaaaiiii!"

* * * * * * * * * *


End file.
